Living Worthy Lives (Part 1)

[0:00] I think every one of us in here should look forward to the soon appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[0:29] We are closer than we ever have been, but He is coming back. The return spoken of here is the turn when Christ will return from heaven and set foot on the mount.

[0:43] It speaks to a personal and a bodily arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember in the first chapter of the book of Acts when He ascended and the angels appeared and said, Why are you guys gawking in the sky?

[1:00] He's coming back the same way as He went in the clouds of heaven. Many believers were looking for this day. In fact, in this period of time, they adopted a greeting which became very popular, Maranatha.

[1:19] We hear that every now and then. And that means, Lord, come. That day will not at all be joy and excitement.

[1:31] It will be a day when the heavens will be destroyed. Going to be destroyed by fire this time. The Lord made us a promise, didn't He?

[1:43] I'm going to destroy by water. I've set my bow in the sky and guarantee it. And the very elements are going to melt away.

[1:56] The book of Revelation, written by the Apostle John, probably is the definitive commentary on this day. That's approaching.

[2:07] Consider some of these truths in Revelation chapter 8. And there came hail and fire mixed with blood.

[2:26] And a third of the earth was burned up. And a third of the trees were burned up. And all the green grass was burned up. Sounded like Oklahoma in the summer.

[2:39] I can remember a little kid growing up. Did you ever walk out in your yard, Mike, and the grass crunched under your feet? It gets hot in Oklahoma.

[2:51] And the second angel sounded something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. And a third of the sea became blood.

[3:08] And a third of the creatures which were in the sea, those which had life, died. And a third of the ships were destroyed.

[3:20] And the third angel sent it, and a great star fell from heaven burning like a torch. And it fell on the third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.

[3:31] And the name of the stars called Wormwood. Wormwood. And a third of the waters became wormwood. And many men died from the waters because they were made bitter.

[3:47] That's Revelation chapter 8, verses 7 to 11. Here's another passage from John the Revelator. Revelation 16, verses 17 to 21.

[4:04] And then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, It is done.

[4:21] It is done. I imagine those three words were heard throughout the cosmos. And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since men came to be upon the earth.

[4:40] So great an earthquake it was, and so mighty, and the great city was split in two, three parts. The cities of the nation fell.

[4:53] And Babylon the great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of his rage.

[5:08] And every island fled away. And the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one talent each, I think that's a Volkswagen, came down from heaven upon men.

[5:27] Now you'd like to think, well men, they sought out refuge in the Lord, and they prayed, and it says, and men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, because its plague was extremely severe.

[5:42] They cursed God. I remember when they had the greatest revival service in history, and the people in the book of Revelation cried out to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb.

[6:00] They didn't call out to the Lamb. They called out to the mountains, fall on top of us. Crush us out of existence. And this was taken from chapter 18 of Revelation.

[6:12] For this reason, in one day, her plagues will come, pestilence, and mourning, and famine, and she will be burned up with fire, for the Lord God who judges is strong.

[6:36] And the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived sensuously, talking about the whore of Babylon, will cry and lament over her because they will see the smoke rising up, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city Babylon, a strong city, for in one hour your judgment has come.

[7:10] Following the destruction of Babylon, the corruption will be destroyed by God and forever abolished. This will then usher in the new heavens and the new earth.

[7:30] That is beautifully described in the 21st chapter of Revelation. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

[7:51] And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and God will dwell among them.

[8:14] And they shall be His people. And He will dwell among them, and He will be their God. And God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

[8:29] There will no longer be any death. There will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things have passed away.

[8:40] And I saw no sanctuary in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary. And the city has no need of a sun, S-U-N, or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the King, the Lamb of God.

[9:15] And nations will walk by its light, and kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be closed by day, for there will be no night there, and they will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

[9:33] And nothing defiled, and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever enter into that place, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

[9:50] These words that John gives us are what we're presently anticipating. And this should give every believer internal peace.

[10:05] 2 Peter 3, verse 14, first part, Therefore, beloved, since you are looking for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace.

[10:19] Our lives should be reflecting the internal that really only believers can enjoy. And this takes diligence.

[10:36] We should be found at peace by the Lord when He returns. When He returns, He will bring everything to light down to the very motives of men and women.

[10:55] And we should be men of peace. True peace brings to all peace of mind. And that comes from possessing true peace of mind which comes with a confident faith in the Lord Jesus.

[11:15] Now, Paul's words are instructive here. I know I said Paul, not Peter, but Paul said we are commanded to be anxious for nothing.

[11:28] The reality is that we are sometimes anxious for everything. Everything. The best advice I ever got concerning not being anxious was don't be anxious.

[11:43] That's pretty good advice. Follow this as a rule of living and you will not be anxious. If you're not anxious, you won't be anxious. And I'm going to get to Paul's great passage on anxious in a moment.

[11:59] But Peter tells us also we should practice personal purity. How do you do that? Well, in chapter 3, verse 14, B, the second part of 14, he says, be spotless and blameless.

[12:20] That pretty much covers it. You want to be pure, be spotless and blameless. Peter here exhorts his readers, be spotless and blameless.

[12:35] Spotless is how we're to live. Blameless is what we hope people see in us. He's a man without blame. It's our reputation.

[12:50] Blameless and spotless can only be achieved by exercising the highest level of integrity and personal holiness.

[13:02] That's how we live our lives. So how does this relate to our anticipation of the return of Christ?

[13:14] Because his return should be a powerful incentive to holy living. How do we achieve holy living and grace? Well, here are some suggestions.

[13:28] These are not exhaustive. These are just suggestions. We can achieve it through prayer and praise. Listen to the words of Paul in Philippians chapter 4.

[13:43] Verse 6. I promised I'd read this to you. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

[14:02] And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

[14:19] Philippians 4.6 also we can achieve holy living and grace through the intake of Scripture or to be in the Word of God.

[14:36] Do as I say not as I do but be in the Word of God. James is helpful. Book of James. We don't spend a lot of time there but verses 21-25.

[14:52] Therefore laying aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness and gentleness receive the implanted Word and not merely be hearers but be doers of the Word and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

[15:13] for if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror and once he looked at himself he's gone away he's left and he immediately forgot what kind of a person he was.

[15:35] But one who looks intently at the perfect law the law of freedom and abides by it not having become a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this man will be blessed in what he does.

[15:56] And then 1 Peter 2 verses 1-3 Therefore laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander like newborn babes long for the pure milk of the Word so that by it you may grow in respect to your salvation.

[16:23] We're to grow in salvation guys and the next on my list is worship but an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth for such people seeks to be his worshipers God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

[16:58] You probably remember that the woman at the well that's John 4 verses 23-24 We're also to participate in the Lord's table I read once that the Lord is never closer to his church than during communion followed by baptism immersion he's uniquely present in the building in that event for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was being betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me in the same way he took the cup also after supper saying this cup is the new coven of my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the word in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the

[18:37] Lord not an exciting thought but a man must test himself and in so doing he's to eat the bread and drink of the cup by the way that's 1st Corinthians 11 23 to 28 and we're to be in fellowship we're to be in fellowship and let me say this if you really want to get exposed to fellowship read the opening words of 1st John chapter 1 because there we learn about fellowship but Hebrews 10 is another great area of scripture Hebrews chapter 10 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and to good deeds not forsaking our own assembling together as is the habit of some but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near my teachings are to finish the study of 2nd

[20:06] Peter next week by examining the following qualities we should be faithful proclaimers of the word of God our doctrinal perceptiveness!

[20:25] What kind of spiritual progress have we made over the years? And how often are we in praise to the Lord? It should be continual continual praise